Vince Dooley

Bio

Vince Dooley's fame spreads across two states. He grew up in Mobile, Alabama, attended Auburn University, was captain of the football team, and was Auburn assistant coach eight years. In 1964, at age 32, Dooley moved to the University of Georgia. There, he was head football coach, and eventually Director of Athletics. He performed at the top level everywhere. He has been elected to both the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. In 25 years coaching at Georgia, his teams were in 20 bowl games, and his record was 201-77-10. His 1980 team won the national championship. In 1980-83 he had a record of 43-4-1. He became director of athletics in 1979 and continued in that position after finishing his coaching career in 1988. As director, he built a program that included 18 teams in men's and women's sports. In the decade of the 1980's, Georgia teams led the SEC in number of conference championships won. The Dooley record shows a strong regard for academics. He has a master's degree in history. Among his football players, seven received graduate scholarships from the National Football Foundation, 11 won similar grants from the NCAA, and 65 were all-Southeastern Conference Academic performers. He was national Coach of the Year in 1980. In 1988, he started a fund drive which raised over $2 million for the university libraries. He kicked off the drive with his own donation, $100,000. Dooley's actions made him widely respected; he has been honored as Georgian of the Year and twice as Sports Executive of the Year. Dooley retired June 30, 2004, at age 71. In his 25 years as Director of Athletics, Georgia teams won 18 National Championships and 80 conference championships.

Career Highlights

• 1976 Dodd Coach of the Year winner